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The structures practiced in this lesson
are the ones that are most often tested in the Structure section. Approximately
20 percent of all problems in the section (usually three or four per test)
involve incomplete main clauses.
ABOUT CLAUSES
All sentences consist of one or more
clauses. A simple sentence consists of one clause. For example:
People need
vitamins.
The man took a
vitamin pill.
Judy lives in
northern California.
In the summer,
Tom walks to his office.
A compound sentence consists
of two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (such as and
and but). Such as:
The man took a
vitamin pill, and he drank a glass of orange juice.
Judy lives in
northern California now, but she was raised in Ohio.
A complex
sentence consists of an independent clause (called the main clause)
and a subordinate (dependent) clause. Subordinate clauses may be adverb
clauses, noun clauses, or adjective clauses. In the sentences below, the
independent clauses are italicized:
The man took a vitamin pill because he had
a cold. (independent clause + adverb clause)
I didn’t realize that Nancy was here. (noun
clause)
Tom walks to his office, which is
located on Broadway, every day during
the summer. (independent clause + adjective clause)
All three types of subordinate clauses
are commonly seen in the Structure part of the test, and each is considered
in separate lessons (Lessons 14, 15, and 16). The emphasis in this chapter,
however, is on the basic components of independent clauses.
MISSING SUBJECTS, VERBS, OBJECTS,
AND COMPLEMENTS
All clauses have a subject and
a verb. Clauses with an action verb often take a direct
object as well.
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Subjject
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Verb
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Object
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People
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need
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vitamins
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The verb missing from an independent
clause may be a single-word verb (need, was, took, had,
walked) or a verb phrase consisting of one or more auxiliary verbs and
a main verb (will need, has been, should take, would
have had, had walked). The verbs may be active (need, take)
or passive (was needed, is taken).
The missing subject and direct object
may be a noun (people, vitamins, Tom), a noun phrase (some
famous people, a vitamin pill, my friend Tom), or a
pronoun (he, she, it, and they are subject
pronouns; him, her, it, and them are object
pronouns).
After the verb to be and certain
other nonaction verbs, a subject complement is used rather than
a direct object. (Subject complements are also known as predicate nominatives
and predicate adjectives.)
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Subjject
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Verb
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Object
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She
The teacher
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is
seemed
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an architect
upset
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In the Structure section of TOEFL test,
it is common for any of these elements or a combination of two or more of
these elements to be missing from the stem. The most common problem in
structure involves a missing verb. A missing subject and a missing
subject-verb combination are common as well. The missing element may also be
part, of rather than all of, the verb or noun phrase.
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Sample
Items
The art of
storytelling ________ almost as old as humanity.
(A) that is
(B) is
(C) it is
(D) being
The
correct answer is (B). It supplies the missing verb. Choice
(A) is incorrect because the word that is used to connect a relative clause
to a main clause; in this sentence, there is only one verb, so there can
only be one clause. Choice (C) is incorrect because there is an unnecessary
repetition of the subject (The art of
storytelling it . . .). Choice (D) is not correct because an -ing form (being) cannot be the main verb of a clause.
____________
a few of the sounds produced by insects can be heard by humans.
(A) Only
(B) There are only
(C) That only
(D) With only
The
correct answer is (A). It completes the noun phrase that is
the subject of the sentence. The expletive There in choice (B) is
incorrectly used. In choice (C), the word That creates a noun clause, but
each clause must have its own verb. (Produced
is used as a participle, not a main verb, in this sentence.) Choice (D) is
incorrect because a preposition may not be used directly before the
subject.
______________________
when lava cools very rapidly.
(A) Because pumice is formed
(B) To form pumice
(C) Pumice is formed
(D) Forming pumice
The
correct answer is (C). It supplies an independent clause to
join to the adverb clause when lava cools very rapidly. Choice (A) consists
of an adverb clause; two adverb clauses cannot be joined to form a complete
sentence. Choices (B) and (D) are incorrect because they do not contain main
verbs, and an independent clause must contain a main verb. (To form and forming are not main verbs.) Only choice (C) could serve as an
independent clause because it contains a subject (Pumice) and a full verb; the passive verb is formed.
Sample Items (Continued)
Duke
Ellington wrote _____________________________ during his career.
(A) that over
a thousand songs
(B) over a
thousand songs
(C) over a
thousand songs were
(D) there
were over a thousand songs
The
correct answer is (B). The direct object is missing from this
sentence. In choice (A), the connecting word that is used unnecessarily. In choice (C), the verb were is
used unnecessarily because there is only one clause and it has a verb
(wrote). In choice (D), the phrase there
were is not needed between a verb and its direct object.
Before the
invention of the printing press, books _________________.
(A) that were
very rare
(B) were very
rarely
(C) were very
rare
(D) as very
rare
The
correct answer is (C). Choice (A) incorrectly forms an adjective
clause; an adjective must be joined to a main clause. Choice (B) contains
an adverb; after the verb to be, an adjective is required. Choice (D) lacks
a verb. Choice (C) correctly supplies a verb (were).
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CLAUSES WITH THERE AND IT
Some clauses begin with the
introductory word there or it rather than with the subject of
the sentence. These introductory words are sometimes called expletives.
The expletive there
shows that someone or something exists, usually at a particular time or
place.
These sentences generally follow the
pattern there + verb to be + subject. For example:
There are many
skyscrapers in New York City.
There was a good movie
on television last night.
The expletive it is used in
several different situations and patterns:
It is important to
be punctual for appointments. (with the verb to be + adjective +
infinitive)
It was in 1959
that Alaska became a state. (with the verb to be + adverbial + noun
clause)
It takes a long
time to learn a language. (with the verb to take + time phrase +
infinitive)
It was David who
did most of the work. (with the verb to be + noun + relative clause)
It and there,
along with the verb and other sentence elements, may be missing from the
stem.
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Sample
Items
In Michigan,
___________________ over 600 feet deep.
(A) salt
deposits
(B) where
salt deposits are
(C) having
salt deposits
(D) there are
salt deposits
The
correct answer is (D). Choice (D) correctly supplies an introductory
word (there), a verb, and a subject. Choice (A) lacks a verb. Choice (B)
contains a subordinator, used to introduce a clause; there is only one
verb, however, so there can only be one clause. Choice (C) also lacks a main
verb.
_________ a
tomato plant from seventy-five to eighty-five days to develop into a mature
plant with
ripe fruit.
(A) It takes
(B) To take
(C) That
takes
(D) By taking
The
correct answer is (A). Choice (A) correctly completes the
sentence with the introductory word It and a verb. Choices (B) and (D) do
not supply main verbs. Choice (C) incorrectly creates a noun clause.
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EXERCISE 13
Focus: Completing
structure problems involving incomplete independent clauses. (Note: Three
or four items in this exercise do NOT focus on missing subjects, verbs,
complements, or introductory words; these items are marked in the answer key
with asterisks.)
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Directions: Choose the
one option—(A), (B), (C), or (D)—that correctly
completes the sentences.
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1
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In the United States,
____________________ is generally the responsibility of municipal governments.
(A) for water treatment
(B) water treatment
(C) where water treatment
(D) in which water treatment
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2
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Crop rotation _______________
of preserving soil fertility.
(A) it is one method
(B) one method
(C) a method is one
(D) is one method
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3
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______________________ the
dollar as its monetary unit in 1878.
(A) Canada adopted
(B) Adopted by Canada,
(C) It was adopted by Canada
(D) The Canadian adoption of
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4
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_______ almost impossible to
capture the beauty of the aurora borealis in photographs.
(A) Being
(B) It is
(C) There is
(D) Is
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5
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______________ two major art
museums, the Fogg and the Sadler.
(A) Harvard University has
(B) At Harvard University
(C) Harvard University, with
its
(D) There at Harvard
University
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6
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American actress and director
Margaret Webster ___________________ for her production of Shakespearean
plays.
(A) who became famous
(B) famous as she became
(C) becoming famous
(D) became famous
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7
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____________ gas tanks
connected to welding equipment, one full of oxygen and the other full of
acetylene.
(A) It is two
(B) Of the two
(C) There are two
(D) Two
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8
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__________________ is more
interested in rhythm than in melody is apparent from his compositions.
(A) That Philip Glass
(B) Philip Glass, who
(C) Philip Glass
(D) Because Philip Glass
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9
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______________________________
by cosmic rays.
(A) The earth is constantly
bombarded
(B) Bombarded constantly, the
earth
(C) Bombarding the earth
constantly
(D) The earth’s constant
bombardment
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10
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_____________ primary colors
are red, blue, and yellow.
(A) There are three
(B) The three
(C) Three of them
(D) That the three
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11
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_______________ who was
elected the first woman mayor of Chicago in 1979.
(A) It was Jane Byrne
(B) Jane Byrne
(C) That Jane Byrne
(D) When Jane Byrne
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12
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Every computer consists of a
number of systems __________ together.
(A) by working
(B) work
(C) they work
(D) that work
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13
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On the moon, __________ air
because the moon’s gravitational field is too weak to retain an atmosphere.
(A) there is no
(B) where no
(C) no
(D) is no
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14
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The Glass Mountains of
northwestern Oklahoma _______________ with flecks of gypsum, which shine in
the sunlight.
(A) they are covered
(B) covered them
(C) that are covered
(D) are covered
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15
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In some cases, ___________ to
decide if an organism is a plant or an animal.
(A) difficult if
(B) it is difficult
(C) the difficulty
(D) is difficult
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16
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The first American novelist to
have a major impact on world literature _____________________________.
(A) who was James Fenimore
Cooper
(B) James Fenimore Cooper was
(C) it was James Fenimore
Cooper
(D) was James Fenimore Cooper
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